I like 7 just because it took several 'leaps.' You can love it or hate it but it changed a lot of things and we see the effects of it in games that followed. I thought 8 had a better love story then 10. And a lot of people are going to make mention of you liking 13 lol. As for the 'best' while it's not my favorite probably 9. It didn't stand out in anyway but it just seemed to do everything right.

But seriously, there are a lot of good aspects to FF1. There are no tacked-on cinema scenes, or obligatory dramatic sequences. None of the characters are annoying, because barely any of them have more than three lines of dialogue. The game constantly throws challenges at the player, from the Marsh Cave all the way to the final dungeon. And since the game lets the player choose a party of four, it was one of the few NES games which can be replayed with a somewhat different experiences every time.

There's also a lot of bad aspects to FF1. The NES version can be punishingly tough. (The GBA version might be too easy... consider the iOS, PS1 or PSP remakes.) It lacks features which showed up in later video games, and a few features that existed in other 1987-vintage games, like multiple save files. And if you like games with lots of plot, characters, and customization, then it's not for you.

VIII despite the iffy battle-system. Great story that made no sense (just the way I like my stories <3), coupled with one hell of an atmosphere, thanks to some breathtaking (at the time) graphics and probably Nobuo Uematsu's best work to date.

Just listen to [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jho-peCAKs]Man with the Machine Gun and tell me it's not the greatest thing ever.

I liked the first eight Final Fantasy games. Nine was alright, ten was better, skipped 11, and love 12.

FF7 was good at its time and you can also explore the entire world when you advance far enough, but the first part sticking to the city was a little boring to me, it's when he breaks out and gets into the larger world is when I started to really like this game.

FF8 Was fun and had good replay-ability and played through a half dozen times or more. Like FF7 I didn't like being contained in the city for the first part of the game, but once out and collecting draw points the game started to get more interesting.

FF9 Played most of the way through twice when the game was still new. I haven't played it since, but do have good memories of the game. I know I won't have the time to play it again.

FF10 I've played through and beat four or five times since it was new and only played it through once a few months ago, which isn't something I've done in years.

Final Fantasy 12 is my favorite of them all. The world is absolutely huge and you can literally wander everywhere without having to strictly stick to the story ala 13. I found that once you get used to the battle system that killing monsters was actually fun and having a three dimensional fight was more to my liking.

FF13 I didn't like this as it's not the Final Fantasy I grew up playing and gets further and further from being an RPG with every new FF13 release. I guess to me the best graphics don't always make for the best games. I'd happily play FF1 before I'd play 13 again.

i will always love FF8 since that was the very first game that started my relationship with Square Enix's final fantasy series. 7 was good where the storyline was, but i felt as if they had too many unnecessary characters that wasn't really needed. Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Aerith, & Sephiroth were all more the major characters or major side characters that made any real legit sense with the story. everyone else just took up space and game time. i wish they could have narrowed it down to the main characters, other than that it was just all over the place to an extent. But i did like Crisis Core a lot.
Final Fantasy X was really good. Characters and story was lovely. I love the world they inhabit in too. Just breath taking. That story stayed on point and had character turmoil that actually went along with it. and i dont care what anyone says about Final Fantasy XIII because that game kicked ass and is the start of the Fabula Nova trilogy. therefore everyone elses points and arguments are invalid. JK. but really ok, i fell head over heels in love with FFXIII. The music and emotions are just as fabulous as its realm Pulse/Cocoon. I love how they were able to incorporate so many different characters, along with culture difference all in one game and it all made sense. there were plenty of really good cutscenes that went along fabulously with the mood. point blank: I LOVE IT.

So my top ff games are: Final Fantasy III, IV, VI, VII-CC, VIII, X, and XIII

Sticking to the mainline games (Frankly, the only spinoffs worth mentioning are Crystal Chronicles and Mystic Quest (aka FF USA), both of which are merely okay. The Legend games were part of the Saga series, and Seiken was Adventure in the US.), I'll give a quick thought on them from my view:

FF1: Surprisingly deep and long, with some customization upon starting. This game is truly difficult. (Well, if you play the original; the remakes are all watered down. Sad part is, this is true for pretty much every remake.) It also takes forever before you have a chance to think you have too much money. 7/10

FF2: The concept of what you do gets stronger is interesting, but is seemingly random, and matched with equally random losses for things you don't use. However, it retains the customibility and challenge, and is still worth a gander. 6/10

FF3: More customability is great! Change your job at will! But I didn't care much for the disposable 4th character. The story also seems to start a better formation process here, leading it to be the start of games that pull you in, and have you cursing its difficulty because you want more! 7.5/10

FF4: Wow... story! Coupled with great gameplay, decent challenge, and the addition of a 5th party member! Unfortunately, formations are kinda limited, and you don't have control over your party composition. These don't stop it from being an awesome game, though. And the music... this is really where things take off. 8/10
FF4 After Years: It's... more FF4! With more challenging areas! And later in, you also get control over your party makeup! I can't deny it rides some of FF4's tails, but it fixes a few things that make it even better of a game! I was shocked anyone at S-E even remembered how to make a game like this anymore. 8.5/10

FF5: Customization with 3 is back, and with a better story. Keeping the challenge and fun up, this is probably my favorite in the series. It's just got this... quirky magic that I can't really describe. 9/10

FF6: Another contender for best in the series. Plenty of characters, the best story in a FF to date, and engrossing gameplay make me simply adore this! The main reason I put 5 above this is because I feel the start of the graphics over challenge started here. 9/10

FF7: *cries* What happened? Getting lost in a dungeon is now very hard, we lost a party character slot, and the idea of a forced mini-game started here. It may look pretty, but it's painfully easy. And these better graphics lost the charm with the series. It's clear that this is where the series was sold out to the mainstream. 4/10

FF8: *gags* Okay, fine, Square, I'll give you credit for trying new things. But none of them worked! Drawing spells was only a trick to lengthen battles. The Guardian Force was only a way to show off your FMV sequence more often. And while I like the idea of tying enemy levels to the party, tying them to the only person you CAN'T remove basically means anyone you get after the 3rd person is useless. Add to this another painfully easy (and boring) game, and you have one of the worst in the series. 1/10

FF9: Well... better. It was a nice throwback to fans of the older games, but that alone doesn't make a good game. The world was a little more open, and it had the best minigame in the series, but the story, strong since 4, fell flat. This game is also insultingly easy. A fair bit of optional side stuff makes this perhaps the best PS game in the series. 5/10

FFX: It's... FF Run-In-A-Line! Exploring is lost now. This contributes to it being another painfully boring and easy game. Add to this the worst mandated minigame (blitzball), the overly simplified battles, coupled with swapping in anyone else at will without penalty, a still weak story, and unmemorable characters, and this is one that's easy to overlook. It's only saving grace is the sphere grid, an interesting (but partially failed) concept for leveling up. 2/10

FFX-2: Okay, so I can explore now. But... what's this fanservice doing here? We're now targetting your stereotypical horny teenage male here. It's just too much for me to get past for what seems like a bit better of gameplay and the customization I love. And I still don't remember anything about the characters. 2/10

FF11: I can't say much. I refuse to do games that charge me for the software, then more to even play it. n/a

FF12: Better again, but that's not saying much. It's wide open for exploring, and there's plenty to do aside from the plot. But, the talk of the main character being changed shows in the weak plot, and whoever thought controlling only 1 character at a time like this game is an idiot. And the gambit AI system... it's way too restrictive. I can't even do an else/if? 4.5/10

FF13: We've got FF Run-In-A-Line 2 point.... oh my god. Everything's a line now! Even the towns are just something to run through. Overworld map? What's that? The tutorial itself is several hours long, leading to a game you wish would just end. I want to explore, not have my hand held through half the game! But I have to look this way first, despite my knowing there's nothing there... 1/10

FF13-2: Another no comment, though this is from my not playing it, and my complete lack of interest in doing so. n/a

FF14: I... would refer to my comment on 11. But when even fans of 11 are trashing this, and S-E had to offer several months of free play just to keep people even playing it while they patch the obvious flaws, it's clear this should never have been released. 0/10.

the above is the most biased and crap review i have ever seen. the aspergers is killing me.

there has never been a FF game that didn't keep me hooked, lots of gameplay, replay value.
i mean hell... the fact that this guy above has actually PLAYED all the FF titles says differently about his review.
either that or he enjoys playing crappy game